Streetlight-based telecommunications system and support unit for use therein

ABSTRACT

A telecommunications (telecom) system includes cellular transceivers, a core network, and at least one streetlight-mountable telecom support unit providing communications connectivity between the cellular transceivers and the core network. The cellular transceivers may be mounted to other streetlights. The telecom support unit includes a housing mountable to streetlight, a powerline interface, and a communication interface. The powerline interface is integrated or configured though a boundary structure of the housing and connectable to a complementary powerline interface of the streetlight. The communication interface provides communicative coupling to one or more of the remote cellular transceivers and may be configured through a second boundary structure of the housing. The telecom support unit may also include a clamp configured to enable mechanical coupling of the housing to a support structure of the streetlight. The telecom support unit may further include a microcontroller arranged to control operations of at least the streetlight.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.17/464,627, which was filed on Sep. 1, 2021, and is incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety. U.S. application Ser. No. 17/464,627claims priority upon and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.63/073,807, which was filed on Sep. 2, 2020, and is incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to telecommunications supportunits and, more particularly, to a streetlight-mountabletelecommunications support unit that may be configured as a basebanddevice, a repeater device, or a combined baseband/repeater device.

BACKGROUND

Known streetlight controllers have onboard photo-sensitive circuitrythat is arranged to generate one or more outputs based on sensed lightin the area proximate the photo-sensitive circuitry. When thephoto-sensitive circuitry of the streetlight controller detects thatambient light has fallen below a threshold, the streetlight is directedto turn on, and when the circuity detects that ambient light has risenabove a threshold, the streetlight is directed to turn off.

Known baseband units are used in the telecommunications industry tocommunicatively couple mobile telephonic devices (e.g., cellulartelephones, tablet computers, and the like) to a land-basedtelecommunications infrastructure, such as packet switched telephonenetwork (PSTN). Generally, a mobile telephonic device forms apoint-to-point communications path between itself and a base transceiverstation (BTS), which may be otherwise referred to as a “cell tower,” a“cell,” a “base station,” or some other like term. The BTS includesantenna structures, transceivers, digital signal processor (DSP)circuitry, control electronics, a timing source (e.g., a globalpositioning system (GPS) receiver), power circuitry, and an interface toan exchange or switch, which completes the path to and from theland-based telecommunications infrastructure.

Known repeaters may be referred to as mid-points in a cellulartelecommunications industry. Known repeaters are used to wirelesslyreceive cellular-based wireless data at an input and wirelesslycommunicate such data to another mid-point or endpoint in thetelecommunications system.

All of the subject matter discussed in the Background section is notnecessarily prior art and should not be assumed to be prior art merelyas a result of its discussion in the Background section. Along theselines, any recognition of problems in the prior art discussed in theBackground section or associated with such subject matter should not betreated as prior art unless expressly stated to be prior art. Instead,the discussion of any subject matter in the Background section should betreated as part of the inventors' approach to the particular problem,which, in and of itself, may also be inventive.

SUMMARY

The following is a summary of the present disclosure to provide anintroductory understanding of some features and context. This summary isnot intended to identify key or critical elements of the presentdisclosure or to delineate the scope of the disclosure. This summarypresents certain concepts of the present disclosure in a simplified formas a prelude to the more detailed description that is later presented.

The device, method, and system embodiments described in this disclosure(i.e., the teachings of this disclosure) relate to telecommunications(telecom) support unit (TSU) that may operate as a baseband unit, acellular telecom repeater, or a combined baseband unit and cellulartelecom repeater.

The TSU may include or exclude cellular transceiver circuitry thatoperates as a remote radio head. When such remote radio head circuitryexists, the TSU is configured to communicate with wireless computingdevices such as smartphones, tablets, and the like. The basebandfunctionality of the TSU enable bidirectional communications between anendpoint device and a core network of a mobile network operator (MNO).

The TSU may also include a microcontroller and associated circuitrycontrollable by the microcontroller. For example, the microcontrollermay implement smart streetlight functions to control one or more lightsources of one or more streetlights. The microcontroller may furthercontrol or otherwise cooperate with, and retrieve data from,utility-grade power metering circuitry. In these cases, the powermetering circuitry may measure line power, load power, or line and loadpower. Other functionality provided by the microcontroller andassociated circuitry may include tilt-sensors, vibration sensors,environmental data sensors, global positioning system circuitry,circuits that uniquely identify the TSU within a system of TSUs,over-the-air software updating software and circuitry, alarms, and thelike.

In a first embodiment, a telecommunications system may include aplurality of remote radio head devices, a core network, and at least onetelecom support unit mounted to and receiving power from a streetlight.The telecom support unit may include a housing, a clamp mechanicallycoupling the housing to a support structure of the streetlight, apowerline interface integrated though a first wall of the housing andelectromechanically coupling the telecom support unit to utility power,and a high-bandwidth communication medium interface integrated through asecond wall of the housing, where the high-bandwidth communicationmedium interface communicatively couples the telecom support unit to atleast one of the remote radio head devices.

In some cases of the first embodiment, the telecom support unit furtherincludes at least one remote radio head device. In some cases, thetelecom support unit further includes a single cellulartelecommunications transceiver, where the single cellulartelecommunications transceiver is arranged for mobile network operatorsubscriber-based communications only.

In some cases of the first embodiment, the telecom support unit isconfigured as a combined baseband and cellular repeater device; in othercases, the telecom support unit is configured as a baseband device; andin still other cases, the telecom support unit is configured as acellular data repeater device. The streetlight-based telecom supportunit may further comprise a microcontroller arranged to controloperations of at least one streetlight. Sometimes, the streetlight-basedtelecom support unit further comprises a one line-side utility-gradepower metering circuit; and a load-side utility-grade power meteringcircuit, wherein the line-side utility-grade power metering circuit andload-side utility-grade power metering circuit are arranged to operateconcurrently. Sometimes, the high-bandwidth communication mediuminterface is a dark fiber interface, and other times, the high-bandwidthcommunication medium interface is a lit fiber interface. In someembodiments, the high-bandwidth communication medium interface is awireless interface, and in at least some of these cases, thehigh-bandwidth communication medium interface is a wireless interfacehaving at least one software-defined antenna.

In a second embodiment, a streetlight-based telecom support unit,comprises: a generally rectangular housing; a standardized powerlineconnector arranged to mate with a corresponding standardized powerlinesocket integrated into a streetlight luminaire; a clamp arranged tomechanically couple the housing to a streetlight support arm, the clampfurther arranged to reduce mechanical strain on the standardizedpowerline connector during rotational coupling of the standardizedpowerline connector with the corresponding standardized powerlinesocket; and a high-bandwidth communication medium interface, thehigh-bandwidth communication medium interface arranged tocommunicatively couple the streetlight-based telecom support unit to atleast one a plurality of remote radio head devices.

In some cases, the streetlight-based telecom support unit is configuredas a baseband device, a cellular data repeater device, or a combinedbaseband and cellular data repeater device. Sometimes, the generallyrectangular housing of the telecom support unit includes a bottomsurface integrated with a top surface by at least one angled wall, andthe bottom surface has a larger area and profile than the top surface.In at least some embodiments, the high-bandwidth communication mediuminterface is a dark fiber interface.

In a third embodiment, a streetlight-based telecom support unit method,comprises: providing a telecom support unit electromechanically coupledto a streetlight; forming a communication link between the telecomsupport unit and at least one streetlight-based remote radio head; andbidirectionally communicating cellular data between the telecom supportunit and the at least one streetlight-based remote radio head.

The streetlight-based telecom support unit method of the thirdembodiment may further comprise: forming a second communication linkbetween the telecom support unit and a core network, and in some ofthese cases, the second communication link includes at least one darkfiber conduit. Additionally, or alternatively the streetlight-basedtelecom support unit method of the third embodiment may further compriseforming a second communication link between the telecom support unit anda second streetlight-based telecom support unit, and sometimes, thesecond communication link includes at least one lit fiber conduit.Sometimes the streetlight-based telecom support unit method of the thirdembodiment also includes programmatically selecting whether thestreetlight-based telecom support unit will operate as at least one of abaseband device, a cellular data repeater device, or a combined basebandand cellular data repeater device.

This Brief Summary has been provided to describe certain concepts in asimplified form that are further described in more detail in theDetailed Description. The Brief Summary does not limit the scope of theclaimed subject matter, but rather the words of the claims themselvesdetermine the scope of the claimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments are described with referenceto the following drawings, wherein like labels refer to like partsthroughout the various views unless otherwise specified. The sizes andrelative positions of elements in the drawings are not necessarily drawnto scale. For example, the shapes of various elements are selected,enlarged, and positioned to improve drawing legibility. The particularshapes of the elements as drawn have been selected for ease ofrecognition in the drawings. One or more embodiments are describedhereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system level deployment having aplurality of IIOT device embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates an alternative exemplary system level deploymentshowing a telecom support unit (TSU) topology.

FIG. 3 illustrates another exemplary system level deployment showing analternative TSU topology.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary streetlight-based telecom support unitembodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates another exemplary telecom support unitelectromechanically coupled to a streetlight, in accordance with analternative embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a data flow diagram representing exemplary processingof a streetlight-based telecom support unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure may be understood more readily by reference tothis detailed description and the accompanying figures. The terminologyused herein is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments onlyand is not limiting to the claims unless a court or accepted body ofcompetent jurisdiction determines that such terminology is limiting.Unless specifically defined herein, the terminology used herein is to begiven its traditional meaning as known in the relevant art.

In the following description, certain specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of various disclosedembodiments. However, one skilled in the relevant art will recognizethat embodiments may be practiced without one or more of these specificdetails, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In otherinstances, well-known structures associated with computing systemsincluding client and server computing systems, as well as networks havenot been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuringdescriptions of the embodiments.

The device, method, and system embodiments described in this disclosure(i.e., the teachings of this disclosure) discuss non-limiting, yetdetailed, embodiments of a streetlight-based telecom support unit. Thetelecom support unit (TSU) may be configured as a baseband device, arepeater device, or a combined baseband/repeater device that ismountable in a streetlight fixture. The TSU may also optionally includea smart streetlight controller and other smart streetlight features asdescribed in the present disclosure. In some cases, the TSU has atransceiver configured to communicate with one or more wirelesscomputing devices (e.g., subscriber devices, cell phones, smartphones,IOT devices, IIOT devices, and the like); and in other cases, the TSUdoes not have any transceiver configured to communicate with personalmobile devices.

To avoid confusing or obfuscating the inventive subject matter disclosedherein, the present disclosure will predominantly describe system,method, and device embodiments in the context of a TSU arranged as abaseband unit, a cellular telecom repeater unit, or a combined basebandand cellular telecom repeater unit. Nevertheless, one of skill in theart will recognize that the principles described herein are not solimited, and such principles may be equally applicable to otherstreetlight-based internet of things (IOT) and industrial internet ofthings (IIOT) devices that are mounted or mountable in a standardizedstreetlight controller socket. Unless expressly described herein, orunless the context demands otherwise, each use of the term TSU may beinterchangeably replaced with the term and functionality of a basebandunit, a cellular telecom repeater, or a combined baseband and cellulartelecom repeater unit.

Rather than a general-purpose computing device, a TSU is arranged as aprocessor-based device arranged to perform a particular function or setof functions. The TSU may be arranged as a repeater that receives andre-transmits cellular telecom data through and around geographic areasthat are obstructed or otherwise occluded from traditional cellulartelecommunications (e.g., communications passed between a wirelesscomputing device and a small cell or macrocell). The TSU mayadditionally or alternatively be arranged as a baseband unit thatcommunicates data between one or more small cells and a core network ofa mobile network operator (MNO). In these and other cases, the TSU mayfurther provide additional functionality associated with smart cityinfrastructure such as smart lighting controls, environmental datacollection and analysis, edge computing, and the like.

The TSU may be coupled to a streetlight luminaire via a standardizedpowerline interface. The standardized powerline interface defines alimited number of electrical/communicative conduits over which signalsmay be passed in-to or out-from the streetlight controller. In somecases, as will be discussed herein, the interface may be referred to asa NEMA interface, a NEMA socket, an ANSI C136 interface, an ANSI C136.41interface, or the like.

A known NEMA interface typically implements the powerline interface withconnectors and receptacles that include three, five, seven, or someother number of electrical/communicative conduits (e.g., pins, blades,springs, connectors, receptacles, sockets, and other like “contacts”). Aset of three primary contacts carry a Line voltage signal, a Loadvoltage signal, and Neutral voltage signal. A set of four secondarycontacts may be used by the streetlight controller to pass power,control information, status information, and the like. The foursecondary contacts may be treated as a first pair of secondary contactsand a second pair of secondary contacts. In at least some cases, theknown NEMA interface further implements a high-speed data interface ofthe type described in U.S. Pat. No. 10,873,170, which is incorporatedherein by reference. Other NEMA interface implementations are alsocontemplated.

FIG. 1 is a system level deployment 100 having a plurality of IIOTdevice embodiments. Any number of IIOT devices are implemented as smallcell networking devices, remote radio heads, smart streetlightcontrollers, and telecom support units (TSUs).

A small cell small cell networking device, as used in the presentdisclosure, is a very small base station. One or more small cells aredeployed in a geographic cell site region. A small cell, as used herein,may be arranged as a picocell, a microcell, a femtocell, or the like. Asmall cell can be deployed indoors or outdoors; above ground or belowground. Typically, however, small cells as contemplated herein aredeployed on the top of streetlights. A macro base station (e.g., atraditional cell tower or the like) integrates with a wide,high-data-capacity communications pipe coupled between the small celland the core network. Differently, small cells are coupled to the corenetwork via small communication pipes. Often, a fundamental purpose of asmall cell is to increase a macrocell's edge data capacity, speed, andtotal network efficiency.

A remote radio head includes a transceiver front-end arranged forbi-directional communication with one or more wireless computing devices(e.g., subscriber devices, cell phones, smartphones, IOT devices, IIOTdevices, and the like), and a transceiver back-end arranged forbi-directional communication, often via fiber-optic cable and CommonPublic Radio Interface (CPRI) protocol interface, with an MNO basestation (e.g., radio control panel, base transceiver station (BTS),NodeB, eNodeB, or the like). A remote radio head typically includes RFcircuitry, amplifier circuitry, analog-to-digital/digital-to-analogconverters (ADC/DAC), up/down converters, and other supportingcircuitry. A remote radio head is typically deployed to extend thecoverage area of a base station.

A smart streetlight controller as described herein may also be referredto as Internet of Things (IOT) device or Industrial Internet of Things(IIOT) device. These smart streetlight controllers are electroniccomputing devices coupled or coupleable to a computing network. Suchdevices may include consumer facing applicability, industrial ormachine-to-machine applicability, or the like. These smart streetlightcontrollers have one or more computing processors, memory storinginstructions that direct operations of the one or more computingprocessors, and network circuitry. In many cases, these devices alsoinclude a power source (e.g., one or more of a battery, a physical powerinterface, power conversion circuitry, a power supply, a photovoltaiccell, an induction coil, etc.), at least one sensor (e.g.,accelerometer, thermometer, pressure sensor, etc.), and memory to storedata collected by the device. A smart streetlight controller describedherein may be configured to identify its own terrestrial location,calculate the position and orientation of Earth relative to the sun,determine sunrise and sunset times at the terrestrial location of thesmart streetlight controller, and control the light source accordingly.A user may in some cases direct a suitable offset be applied to thecalculated time that a light source should turns on or turns off orotherwise control the streetlight. Other exemplary and non-limitingoffsets may include manual adjustments, programmatic adjustments,adjustments for local weather conditions, adjustments for othercelestial events (e.g., full moon, eclipse, and the like), adjustmentsfor season, and adjustments for daylight savings time. And still otheradjustments based on locally sensed circumstances and data available inone or more databases, repositories, websites, or othernetwork-accessible sources are also contemplated.

The TSU of the system level deployment 100 may be implemented as one ormore baseband units as described in the present disclosure, one or morerepeaters as described in the present disclosure, one or more combinedbaseband and repeater units, one or more small cells, one or more remoteradio heads, one or more streetlight controllers, and other likedevices.

Streetlight fixtures in FIG. 1 are coupled to, or otherwise arranged aspart of, a system of streetlight poles, and each streetlight fixtureincludes a light source. Each light source, light fixture, and lightfitting, individually or along with their related components, may insome cases be interchangeably referred to as a luminaire, a lightsource, a streetlight, a streetlamp, or some other such suitable term.

In the system level deployment 100, at least one light pole includes afixture with a TSU 102 configured as a baseband unit, a cellular telecomrepeater unit, or a combined baseband and cellular telecom repeaterunit. A plurality of other light poles include a smart sensor device104A-104H. The smart sensor devices 104A-104H may be TSUs configured asrepeaters, additional TSUs configured as baseband units, additional TSUsconfigured as combined baseband and repeater units, remote radio heads,smart light controllers, and the like. In the present disclosure, lightpoles having a smart sensor device 104A-104H may individually orcollectively be referred to as light poles having a smart sensor device104 or simply light poles 104 for brevity. In these cases, and for thepurposes of the present disclosure, the smart sensor device of eachlight pole 104 may be structurally and operatively identical (i.e.,having same or substantially similar circuitry and embedded software,and differing by way of one or more network-level system identifiers).

For the system level deployment 100 to operate efficiently andeffectively, it is understood that not every streetlight or light poleneeds to be configured with a TSU 102 or smart sensor device 104. Infact, many embodiments of a system level deployment 100 will configurefewer than fifty percent (50%), fewer than twenty-five percent (25%),fewer than ten percent (10%) and even fewer than five percent (5%) ofthe available light poles with a TSU 102 or smart sensor device 104.

To help convey the inventive subject matter of the present disclosure,however, the system level deployment 100 illustrates a plurality oflight poles 102, 104 arranged in one or more determined geographicareas, and each light pole 102, 104 has at least one light sourcepositioned in a fixture. The fixture will include the standardizedpowerline interface as described herein. The fixture is at least twentyfeet above ground level and in at least some cases, the fixtures arebetween about 20 feet and 40 feet above ground level. In other cases,the streetlight fixtures may of course be lower than 20 feet above theground or higher than 40 feet above the ground. In other system leveldeployments according to the present disclosure, there may be 1,000 ormore light poles 102, 104 arranged in one or more determined geographicareas. In these or in still other cases, the streetlight fixtures may ofcourse be lower than 20 feet above the ground or higher than 40 feetabove the ground. Although described as being above the ground,streetlight fixtures shown and contemplated in the present disclosuremay also be subterranean, but positioned above the floor, such as in atunnel.

The system of streetlight poles, streetlight fixtures, streetlightsources, or the like in the system level deployment may be controlled bya utility, a municipality, or some other government agency. In othercases, the system streetlight poles, streetlight fixtures, streetlightsources, or the like in the system level deployment is controlled by aprivate entity (e.g., private property owner, third-party servicecontractor, or the like). In still other cases, a plurality of entitiesshares control of the system of streetlight poles, streetlight fixtures,streetlight sources, or the like. The shared control may be hierarchicalor cooperative in some other fashion. For example, when the system iscontrolled by a municipality or a department of transportation, anemergency services agency (e.g., law enforcement, medical services, fireservices) may be able to request or otherwise take control of thesystem. In still other cases, one or more sub-parts of the system ofstreetlight poles, streetlight fixtures, streetlight sources, or thelike can be granted some control such as in a neighborhood, around ahospital or fire department, in a construction area, or in some othermanner.

In the system level deployment 100 of FIG. 1 , any number of streetlightpoles 102, 104 and their associated fixtures may be arranged with astandardized powerline interface that is compliant with a roadway arealighting standard promoted by a standards body such as ANSI C136.41(e.g., a NEMA-based connector/socket system). The connector permits thecontrolling or servicing authority of the system to competitively andefficiently purchase and install light sensors on each streetlightfixture. In addition, or in the alternative, the standardized connectorin each streetlight fixture permits the controlling or servicingauthority to replace a conventional light sensor with another devicesuch as a TSU 102 (e.g., baseband unit, repeater, or combined basebandand repeater), a remote radio head, a small cell networking device,another type of smart sensor device embodied as a smart streetlightcontroller, an IIOT device, or some other type of smart sensor device104.

Elements representing the sun and moon 101 are shown in FIG. 1 . Lightor the absence of light based on time of day, weather, geography, orother causes provide information (e.g., ambient light) to light sensorsand other controllers of light pole mounted devices described in thepresent disclosure. Based on electronically captured or programmaticallyderived information, an associated light source may be suitablycontrolled.

In the system level deployment 100 of FIG. 1 , various ones of the lightpoles may be 50 feet apart, 100 feet apart, 250 feet apart, or someother distance. In some cases, the type and performance characteristicsof each TSU 102 or other smart sensor device 104 are selected based ontheir respective distance to other such devices such that wirelesscommunications are acceptable.

The light pole and fixture with the TSU 102 and each light pole andfixture with a smart sensor device 104 may be directly or indirectlycoupled to a street cabinet 108 or other like structure that providescommunications and utility power (e.g., “the power grid”) in a wiredway. The utility power may provide 120 VAC, 208 VAC, 220 VAC, 240 VAC,260 VAC, 277 VAC, 360 VAC, 415 VAC, 480 VAC, 600 VAC, or some otherpower source voltage. The communications may include high-bandwidthcommunications via a high-bandwidth medium such as a fiber optic cable.That is, each light pole and fixture with a TSU 102, and optionally oneor more of the light poles and fixtures with smart sensor devices104A-104H, are also coupled to the same street cabinet 108 or anotherstructure via a wired backhaul connection. It is understood that thesewired connections are in some cases separate wired connections (e.g.,copper wire, fiber optic cable, industrial Ethernet cable, or the like)and in some cases combined wired connections (e.g., power over Ethernet(PoE), powerline communications (PLC), or the like).

For simplification of the system level deployment 100 of FIG. 1 , awired backhaul and power line 106 is illustrated as a single line. Inthe embodiment of FIG. 1 , the street cabinet 108 is coupled to thepower grid, which is administered by a licensed power utility agency,and the street cabinet 108 is coupled to the public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN). In other embodiments, the street cabinet 108 may beelectrically, communicatively, or electrically and communicatively tosome other infrastructure (e.g., power source, satellite communicationnetwork, or the like) such as a windmill, generator, solar source, fuelcell, satellite dish, long- or short-wave transceiver, or the like.

In some embodiments, any number of TSU devices 102 and smart sensordevices 104 are arranged to provide utility grade power meteringfunctions. The utility grade power metering functions may be performedwith a circuit arranged apply any one or more of a full load, a partialload, and a load where voltage and current are out of phase (e.g., 60degrees; 0.5 power factor). Other metering methodologies are alsocontemplated. Such metering circuits are arranged to provide acceptablyaccurate line side, load side, or line side and load side power meteringinformation that enables a utility or other entity to determine any oneor more of: 1) how much power enters the fixture; 2) how much power isconsumed at the fixture; and 3) how much power exits the fixture.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1 , each light pole and fixture with a smartsensor device 104 is in direct or indirect wireless communication withthe light pole and fixture that has the small cell networking device102. In addition, each light pole and fixture with a smart sensor device104 and the light pole and fixture with the TSU 102 may also be indirect or indirect wireless communication 112 with an optional remotecomputing device 110. The remote computing device 110, when it isincluded in the system level deployment 100, may be controlled by amobile network operator (MNO), a municipality, another governmentagency, a third party, or some other entity. By this optionalarrangement, the remote computing device 110 can be arranged towirelessly communicate light control signals and any other information(e.g., packetized data) between itself and each respective wirelessnetworking device coupled to any of the plurality of light poles.

A user 114 holding a wireless computing device 116 (e.g., smartphone,tablet, wearable computing device, or the like) is represented in thesystem level deployment 100 of FIG. 1 . A vehicle having an in-vehiclecomputing device 118 is also represented. The vehicle may be anemergency service vehicle, a passenger vehicle, a commercial vehicle, apublic transportation vehicle, a drone, or some other type of vehicle.The user 114 may use their wireless computing device 116 to establish awireless communication session over a cellular-based network controlledby an MNO, wherein packetized wireless data is passed between a smartsensor device 104 and the TSU 102. Concurrently, the in-vehiclecomputing device 118 may also establish a wireless communication sessionover the same or a different cellular-based network controlled by thesame or a different MNO, wherein packetized wireless data of the secondsession is also passed between a smart sensor device 104 and a TSU 102.

Other devices may also communicate through light pole-based devices ofthe system level deployment 100. These devices may be IOT devices, IIOTdevices, or some other types of smart devices. In FIG. 1 , two publicinformation signs 120A, 120B, and a private entity sign 120C are shown,but many other types of devices are contemplated. Each one of thesedevices may form an unlicensed wireless communication session (e.g.,Wi-Fi) or a cellular-based wireless communication session with one ormore wireless networks made available by the devices shown in the systemlevel deployment 100 of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 2 is a system level deployment 100A showing a TSU topologyembodiment. A first light pole and fixture with a TSU 102 is configuredas a baseband unit. Other light poles and fixtures with smart sensordevices 104K-104P may be configured as TSUs, remote radio heads, smartlight controllers, and the like. The light poles are vertically standingalong various portions of a roadway 122. Certain ones of the smartsensor devices 104K-104P may be in wireless communications with certainwireless computing devices 116A-116E. The communications passed betweeneach wireless computing device 116A-116E and each smart sensor device104K-104P or TSU 102 may conform to any known cellular protocol usingany known cellular technology (e.g., 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G, GSM, CDMA, and thelike). To avoid unnecessarily cluttering in FIG. 2 , individualcommunication paths to and from the wireless computing devices 116A-116Eare not shown. The dashed communication path between wireless computingdevice 116A and TSU 102 is only present in optional cases where a TSU102 is configured with a cellular wireless transceiver (e.g., remoteradio head circuitry). A wired backhaul connection 106A communicativelyand bi-directionally couples TSU 102 with a core network 124.

The TSU 102 is communication with smart sensor devices 104K, 104L, 104Min a daisy chain topology. The TSU 102 is in communication with smartsensor devices 104N, 104O, 104P in a star topology. In either topologyindividually (i.e., star or daisy chain), or in systems having acombined topology, a single TSU may provide high bandwidth, low latencyconnectivity to the land-based telecommunications infrastructure, suchas packet switched telephone network (PSTN), which is otherwise referredto herein as a core network 124.

FIG. 3 is another exemplary system level deployment 100B showing a TSUtopology embodiment. Cellular communications to and from a plurality ofwireless computing devices 116F, 116G, 116H and various othertelecommunications infrastructure are implemented in conformance withany known cellular protocol using any known cellular technology (e.g.,3G, 4G, 5G, 6G, GSM, CDMA, and the like).

The system level deployment 100B is deployed using streetlight-baseddevices along the roadway 122 of an urban environment. A building 126occludes, obstructs, attenuates, or otherwise undesirably affectscellular communications. For such reasons, at least one TSU 102A isdeployed as a baseband unit, and a plurality of one or more smart sensordevices 104Q, 104R, 104S are TSUs deployed as cellular telecom repeatersor combined baseband units and cellular telecom repeaters.

Communications in the system level deployment 100B include wirelesscellular communications between one wireless computing device 116F and asmart sensor device 104Q and between another wireless computing device116G and another smart sensor device 104R. In this case, both smartsensor device 104Q and smart sensor device 104R are TSUs that includecellular transceiver circuitry (e.g., remote radio head circuitry). Asrepresented in FIG. 3 , an additional smart sensor device 104S is a TSUthat optionally may exclude any cellular transceiver circuitry. Smartsensor device 104Q communicates backhaul information to and through oneor more of the other smart sensor devices 104R, 104S, which, in thisembodiment, are TSUs arrange as cellular telecom repeaters.

Communications in the system level deployment 100B also include wirelesscellular communications between another wireless computing device 116Hand, optionally, either smart sensor device 104R or a macrocell 128. Inthis case, wireless computing device 116H will not communicate directlywith TSU 102A because TSU 102A does not include any wireless cellulartransceiver circuitry.

The macrocell 128 and TSU 102A are arranged to communicate backhaulinformation to the core network 124 via a dedicated backhaulcommunication conduit 106D. The dedicated backhaul communication conduit106D may be wired, wireless, or a combination of wired and wirelesstechnologies. In at least some cases, the dedicated backhaulcommunication conduit 106D includes fiber-optic cable arranged tocommunicate at a rate of at least 10 gigabits per second (10 GHz).

Repeater backhaul communications conduit 106B and repeater/basebandcommunications conduit 106C may also include wired, wireless, or wiredand wireless communication technologies in any suitable combination. Inat least some cases, repeater backhaul communications conduit 106B andrepeater/baseband communications conduit 106C include fiber-optic cablearranged to communicate at a rate of at least 10 gigabits per second (10GHz).

When a TSU 102 is operating as a repeater, the TSU 102 may includeadditional circuitry and features to facilitate the passage of cellulartelecommunications data in to and out from the TSU. The additionalcircuitry and functionality may include any one or more of amplificationcircuitry, filtering circuitry, directionally adjustable antennas,configurable antennas, buffering circuits, data flow control circuits,and the like. As evident in the embodiment of FIG. 3 , the repeaterfunctionality of a TSU 102 provides a system to enhance mobile networkcoverage by receiving and retransmitting cellular telecommunicationsdata in a previously obstructed or occluded geographic region.

Communications to and from the TSU 102 and the smart sensor devices 104described herein (i.e., communications 106B, 106C, 106D) may be wired,wireless, or a combination of both. Fiber-optic communications have beendescribed. In some cases, wireless line of sight communications areimplemented between devices using millimeter wave or ultra-widebandcircuits configured using holographic beam forming repeaters and atleast one software-defined antenna. In these cases, a same band ofwireless spectrum may be continuously reused at the same time inspatially diverse regions. Antennas for such devices (i.e.,software-defined holographic beam formed antennas) may be arranged withnarrow beam focus that is different from known multiple input, multipleoutput (MIMO) or phase arrays customized, for example, in the 1 GHz to70 GHz range.

TSU 102 is configured to perform baseband operations. When a TSU 102includes cellular transceiver circuitry, the baseband operations includeprocessing raw data to isolate data for transmission. In some cases, theTSU may also perform operations that include packetizing the data to betransmitted, and generating intelligent overhead metadata (e.g.,subscriber information, destination information, quality of serviceinformation, and other system information). In other cases, whether ornot the TSU 102 has cellular transceiver circuitry, a TSU 102 will passeither packetized data or raw, un-packetized data to or from the corenetwork 124. Ones of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that anindustry term for fiber-optic cable that carries raw, un-packetized data(i.e., data having no internet protocol (IP) or Open SystemsInterconnection (OSI) model intelligent metadata) at the speed of lightmay be referred to as “dark fiber,” and fiber-optic cable that carriespacketized data having some intelligent IP or OSI model metadata may bereferred to as “lit fiber.” In at least some cases, the interface to acore network 124 includes a layer three (L3) switch.

FIG. 4 is a telecommunication support unit (TSU) 103 embodiment. In someinstances, the TSU 103 is arranged along the lines of TSU 102, 102A. Insome instances, the TSU 103 is arranged along the lines of smart sensordevice 104K-104P (FIG. 2 ) or smart sensor device 104Q-104S (FIG. 3 ).Accordingly, the TSU 103 may a TSU configured as a cellular telecomrepeater, a baseband unit, or a combined cellular telecom repeater andbaseband units.

A TSU 103 is electromechanically coupled to a streetlight fixture via apowerline interface. The powerline interface may be a standardizedinterface (e.g., ANSI C136.41 “NEMA” connector, Zhaga connector, or thelike) or any other power interface. The powerline interface includes apowerline connector 140A. Optionally, the TSU 103 may also include apowerline connector, such as a powerline socket 140B. A housing of theTSU 103 includes a first conduit interface 142A that is optionallycoupled to a second conduit interface 142B in some embodiments. A set ofpowerline conduits 144 and a set of optional control conduits 146 are insome cases coupled between first and second conduit interfaces 142A,142B.

In at least some cases, standardized powerline conduits 144 are coupledto a first connection point (e.g., contact, pin, pad, terminal, lug,blade, or the like) a second connection point, and a third connectionpoint. In at least some cases, the first connection point is wired toprovide a common/neutral/ground contact, the second connection point iswired to provide a power/line voltage contact, and the third connectionpoint is wired to provide a load contact. In at least some cases, a 260VAC powerline source (e.g., a power grid source voltage, utility power,or the like) is coupled to the three corresponding contacts of thestandardized powerline connector 140 via a streetlight. The standardizedpowerline connector 140 bring AC line source power into the TSU 103. Inother embodiments, AC line source power (i.e., utility power) may bearranged as a powerline source providing 120 VAC, 208 VAC, 220 VAC, 240VAC, 260 VAC, 277 VAC, 360 VAC, 415 VAC, 480 VAC, 600 VAC, or some otherpower source voltage.

The powerline conduits 144 and optional control conduits 146 are furthercoupled to a power supply module 148. In at least one embodiment, thepower supply module 148 is referred to as a power board. Power supplymodule 148 includes power conversion circuitry 150, a processor 152,memory 154, communications circuitry 156, and other circuitry 158.

In at least some cases, the power conversion circuitry 150 includesanalog front-end circuitry, powerline filter circuitry, switching powersupply circuitry, power factor correction circuitry, stray voltagedetection circuitry, and other such circuitry. In some cases, the powerconversion circuitry 150 includes high-speed modem circuitry thatenables, for example, Gigahertz networking (e.g., Ethernet)functionality over one or more programmable transmission paths andreception paths using the powerline as a communications medium. In atleast some case, powerline communications functions implemented in thepower conversion circuitry 150 can be used to provide backhaul servicesfor cellular-based network functions described herein.

A processor 152 and memory 154 of the power supply 148 cooperate toimplement various features of TSU 103. For example, in some cases,control signals are passed through the communications circuitry 158 andprocessed in accordance with executable software instructions stored inmemory 154 and executed by processor 152. The control signals may, forexample, control one or more fans, convection cooling or othertemperature adjustment means configured as part of the other circuitry158. Other control signals are of course contemplated.

The communications circuitry 156 may be implemented with any suitablecommunications circuits. An exemplary, non-exhaustive list ofcommunication technologies, protocols, and technologies and protocolsthat may be implemented via communications circuitry 156 include RS-232serial, RS-485 serial, universal serial bus (USB), Ethernet, I2C, SPI,one-wire, and the like.

In addition, or as an alternative to the fans described herein, theother circuitry 158 of the power supply module 148 may include overvoltage circuitry, over current circuitry, self-test circuitry,input/output (I/O) circuitry, temperature sensing circuitry, and anyother suitable circuitry.

The power supply module 148 is electrically coupled to a microcontroller160, communicatively coupled to the microcontroller 160, or electricallyand communicatively coupled to the microcontroller 160. Accordingly,power to operate the microcontroller 160 is derived from power receivedat the standardized powerline connector 140, generated by the powersupply module 148, and passed to the microcontroller 160. The powerpassed to the microcontroller 160 is in some cases, direct current powerat any suitable voltage (e.g., 3.3 VDC, 5 VDC, 12 VDC, 36 VDC, 48 VDC,or some other DC voltage).

Control information and data may be passed between the power supplymodule 148 and the microcontroller 160. For example, in some cases,control information for a streetlight is generated by themicrocontroller 160, passed through the communications circuitry 156 ofthe power supply module 140, and further passed through the set controlconduits 146 to the streetlight. Such control information may direct alight source of the streetlight to turn on, turn off, output aparticular level of illumination, and the like.

The microcontroller 160, in the embodiment of FIG. 4 , is arranged witha processor 162, memory 164, a communications module 166, and othercircuitry 168. The microcontroller 160 also includes alocation/identification module 170 (e.g., global positioning system(GPS), MAC ID, IMEI module, or some other unique location oridentification structure), an input/output (I/O) module 172, a pulsewidth modulation (PWM) circuit 174, reset circuitry 176, and digitaladdressable lighting interface (DALI) circuitry 178 (e.g., a DALIcontroller, a DALI power supply, and the like).

The microcontroller 160 of FIG. 4 is represented with a dashed line boxto make clear that in some cases, the various circuits and modules areincluded in a single microcontroller package, and in other cases, anyone or more of the modules 162-178 may be partially included in amicrocontroller package and partially outside a microcontroller package,or any one or more of the modules 162-178 may be entirely outside of themicrocontroller package. Additionally, any one or more of the modules162-178 may be optionally included or excluded.

The memory 164 may in some cases be included in the microcontroller 160,in any particular module of the microcontroller 160, or in a separateand distinct package. The memory 164 includes storage space forexecutable software instructions, which, when executed by processor 162,cause TSU 103 to perform any particular programmed acts. The memory 164also includes an area to store data that is captured, received, created,determined, or in any other way generated. Implementations of acommunications protocol implemented via the communications module 166may be stored in the memory 164. The communications protocol may be anysuitable protocol. In at least one embodiment, such as the embodiment ofFIG. 4 , a suitable communications protocol having parameters stored inmemory 164 is a message queueing telemetry transport (MQTT) protocol.

Memory 164 in some embodiments includes storage for a system-wide uniqueidentifier (SWUI). The SWUI may be stored in clear text. The SWUI may beencrypted, hashed, or obfuscated in some other way. In some cases, theSWUI is generated, populated, or otherwise implemented in cooperationwith the communications module 166, the location/identification module170, or some other electronic circuitry (e.g., module) of the TSU 103.

As described herein, a SWUI may be formed from one or more parts orwhole of an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) code, mobilecountry code (MCC), mobile network code (MNC), mobile sequential serialnumber (MSIN), electronic serial number (ESN), integrated circuit cardidentifier (ICCID), international mobile equipment identifier (IMEI),mobile station ISDN number (MSISDN), MAC address, one-time random numbergenerator, or some other extended unique identifier (EUI) information orcombination thereof. The SWUI may be used in, or in association with,communications between the TSU 103 and a remote computing server. TheSWUI information identifies the particular TSU 103 amongst other devices(e.g., other TSUs 103, smart sensor devices 104, and the like)communicating with the remote computing server.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4 , processor 162 is arranged to executesoftware instructions (i.e., code) stored in memory 164. The executionof such code may include retrieving particular data stored in the memory164, and in at least some cases the cooperation between the executingsoftware code and the data stored in the memory 164 causes the I/Omodule 172 to operate the PWM circuitry 174, the DALI circuitry 178, orany of the other circuitry 168. In at least one example, executed codeis arranged to direct output of visual light from a correspondingluminaire in accordance with a pulse width modulate (PWM) signalgenerated by the PWM module 174.

As described herein, the microcontroller 160 of TSU 103 may be arrangedto operate semi-autonomously. The microcontroller 160 may direct thecommunication of status information, warning information, alerts, or anyother suitable information toward a customer-based computing server. Theinformation may be communicated on a schedule, at a request, or upon anevent. The information, once passed, may be used, for example, topopulate one or more web pages deliverable to a user via a web-basedmanagement tool. In order to perform such communication, the informationmay be passed to and from the microcontroller 160 via the communicationsmodule 166.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4 , the communications module 166 may bearranged as a wireless connection device capable of communicating on anysuitable medium (e.g., radio frequency (RF), optical, audio, ultrasound,or some other part of the electromagnetic spectrum). In at least somecases, the communications module 166 is arranged for a communicationmedium that conforms to a cellular or cellular-based protocol (e.g., 4G,LTE, 5G, 6G, or the like). Alternatively, or in addition,

Notwithstanding the discussion herein, one of skill in the art willrecognize that the DALI circuitry 178 may be implemented in a variety ofways without diverting from the teaching of the present disclosure. SuchDALI circuitry 178 may generate communication signals for a streetlightor some other electronic circuit.

In some cases, the other circuitry 168 includes a light sensor circuitthat provides data for analysis by the processor 162 to control thelight source of one or more associated streetlights. In at least someembodiments, electrically coupling a light sensor to a processor-basedlight control circuit includes passing a signal representing an amountof light detected by the light sensor to the processor 162 of theprocessor-based light control circuit. In at least some of theseembodiments, the light sensor is arranged to detect an amount of lux,lumens, or other measurement of luminous flux and generate the signalrepresenting the amount of light detected. The processor 160 is arrangedto provide a light control signal that is passed to a respective lightsource.

In some cases, the processor 162 of microcontroller 160 is configured tocalculate the position of the sun relative to Earth at any terrestrialcoordinates. More specifically, the position of the sun relative to aspecific position on Earth (e.g., latitude and longitude) may becalculated for any specific date and for any specific time.Additionally, or alternatively, a specific time on a specific date thatthe sun is at a specific position relative to a specific location can becalculated. This calculated value may be used as a streetlight controltime parameter. In this way, if a streetlight is desirably turned on orturned off every day when the sun is at a same specific positionrelative to the streetlight, the specific time of day when the sun is inthat relative position can be calculated for any specific date and usedas a streetlight control time.

A streetlight control time, as the term is used herein, is a specifictime that a light source is controlled by a microcontroller 160. Astreetlight control time may be a time that the microcontroller 160directs the light source to turn on, turn off, dim, dim to a specificlight output, flash, flash a code or an encoded message, change theproperties of generated light (e.g., color, intensity, warmth, and thelike), or control the streetlight in any other way. A streetlightcontrol time may be positive or negative.

In some cases, a plurality of streetlight control times may be generatedand applied. Different streetlight control times may be arranged todirect different actions of the light source. A plurality of streetlightcontrol times may be prioritized. Accordingly, the concept ofstreetlight control times is flexibly implemented, and theimplementation of many different types and functions of streetlightcontrol times is contemplated.

In at least one embodiment, a streetlight control time desirably directsa streetlight to turn off at, or soon after, sunrise when the sun is ata first specific position relative to the streetlight. In at least oneembodiment, a streetlight control time desirably directs a streetlightto turn on at, or soon before, sunset when the sun is at a secondspecific position relative to the streetlight. Using the terrestrialposition of the streetlight (e.g., as determined by alocation/identification module 170), a first streetlight control time inany given day when the sun is at the first specific position can becalculated, and a second streetlight control time in the given day whenthe sun is at the second specific position can be calculated. These twospecific streetlight control times can be used to turn off thestreetlight in the morning and to turn on the streetlight at night.

Because the microcontroller 160 may be equipped with communicationcapabilities, each light source associated with each TSU 103 can becontrolled remotely as an independent light source or in combinationwith other light sources. The communicative relationship to, from, or toand from each of the TSUs 103 may be a direct communication or anindirect communication. That is, in some cases, one of a plurality oflight poles and fixtures with a TSU 103 may communicate directly toanother light pole and fixture with a TSU 103, or a light pole andfixture with a TSU 103 may communicate via one or more other light polesand fixtures with TSUs 103 or via some other means (e.g., via a cellularcommunication to a traditional cellular macrocell, via a wiredconnection, or the like). Such direct and indirect communications may befacilitated via TSUs 103 configured as repeaters, baseband units, orcombined repeaters and baseband unit.

The microcontroller 160 may include still other features. For example,in some cases, the microcontroller 160 includes other circuitry 168configured to perform integrated certified power metering. Such powermetering may include sampling and determining power measurements of aline, a load, or concurrently a line and a load. In some cases, suchpower metering includes a determination of power-per-unit-time, such askilowatt per hour. Other circuitry and functionality of themicrocontroller 160 includes tilt/vibration sensing. Still othercircuitry and functionality of the microcontroller 160 includes capture,collection, analysis, and communication of a last known state after apower outage.

The TSU 103 may optionally include cellular transceiver circuitry 180.The cellular transceiver circuitry 180 may be, for example configured asa remote radio head. One of skill in the art will recognize that thecellular transceiver circuitry 180 will typically include a transceiverfront-end arranged for bidirectional communication with one or morewireless computing devices (e.g., subscriber devices, cell phones,smartphones, IOT devices, IIOT devices, and the like). In some cases,however, a TSU 103 does not include any cellular transceiver circuitry180 that would permit direct communication with a wireless computingdevice (e.g., subscriber device, cell phone, smartphone, IOT device,IIOT device, and the like).

An interface 182 is configured as a backhaul interface, a fronthaulinterface, or an interface having both backhaul and fronthaulfunctionality. A backhaul interface is arranged to provide communicationfunctionality to and from a core network 124 according to a dedicatedbackhaul communication conduit 106D as described herein. A fronthaulinterface is arranged to provide communication functionality to and fromother devices (e.g., one or more TSU 102 devices and/or one or moresmart sensor devices 104) according to a repeater backhaul communicationconduit 106B and/or repeater/baseband backhaul communication conduit106C as described herein.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary TSU 103 as electromechanically coupledto a streetlight 190. As shown, a clamp 192 may be integrated with, orotherwise coupled to, a housing of the TSU 103. In such a case, theclamp 192 mechanically and removably binds the TSU 103 housing to asupport arm 194 of the light pole that supports the streetlight 190.

The housing of the TSU 103 itself may include many useful features. Oneof skill in the art will recognize the harsh and potentially severeenvironment in and around a streetlight luminaire. The housing of theexemplary TSU 103 is arranged in size, shape, and color to be virtuallyunnoticeable by a ground-based person. In some cases, a top edge of thehousing is angled to make the TSU 103 appear visually smaller whenobserved from the ground. That is, if a TSU has a generally rectangularcross section when viewed from any one or more three-dimensionalperspectives (i.e., x-direction, y-direction, and z-direction), a bottomsurface of the TSU housing may have a larger area and profile than a topsurface. To achieve this relationship, vertical walls of the TSU 103 maybe angled inward from bottom to top.

In some cases, the TSU 103 housing is IP66 certified to resist theingress of moisture when the TSU 103 is deployed on a streetlight. Insome cases, one or more portions of the TSU housing are made of a metal,which provide structural strength. In some cases, one or more portionsof the TSU housing are made of a material that substantially passesradio frequency (RF) energy, such as a plastic. In at least some cases,a TSU housing includes venting apertures formed to encourageone-directional airflow, fans, or other ventilating structures.

The TSU housing is also arranged with boundary structures (i.e.,corners, walls, bottom surfaces, top surfaces, venting, heat-sinks,connectors, assembly hardware (e.g., screws, nuts, bolts, clamps,cabling, and the like)) that reduce wind-load and reduce the collectionof snow, water, dust, and other foreign particles.

In at least some cases, the generally rectangular shape of a TSU housinghas a length of between about four inches (4 in.) and twenty-four inches(24 in.), a width of between about three inches (3 in.) and sixteeninches (16 in.) and a nominal height of between about one inch (1 in.)and about six inches (6 in.). In at least one case, the outer boundariesof a TSU 103 housing, excluding any clamp structures, measure aboutsixteen inches by nine inches by four inches (16 in.×9 in.×4 in.).

Clamp 192 is particularly arranged for binding to a substantiallycylindrical structure. In at least some cases, the clamp 192 is arrangedto support the installation of a TSU 103 by bearing at least a portionof the weight of TSU 103 during installation, which reduces mechanicalstrain on the standardized powerline connector 140A during rotationalcoupling of a powerline connector 140A with a corresponding powerlinesocket integrated in a streetlight. It is recognized that the luminairehousing of streetlight 190 includes a standardized powerline socketalong the lines of standardized power line socket 140B.

A bottom-up view of a standardized powerline connector 104A, or atop-down view of a standardized powerline socket 104B is presented inFIG. 5 . Seven contact surfaces are shown in a configuration thatcomplies with a particular standardized powerline interface (e.g., ANSIC136.41); however, the principles described herein may be suitablyapplied to other standardized powerline interfaces (e.g., ZhagaConsortium and the like). A physical marking, “N,” and a correspondingarrow may be labeled on the base to guide an installer as to the properorientation of a connector or socket when installed.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5 , the standardized powerline interface has aset of primary contacts arranged to carry a Line voltage signal, a Loadvoltage signal, and a Neutral voltage signal, each of which is locatedabout a central location in the base of the standardized powerlineconnector 104A or standardized powerline socket 104B (i.e.,semi-circular contact structures (e.g., pins, blades, connectors, or thelike) physically labeled “Line,” “Load,” and “Neut.” on the connector).The primary contacts are arranged to pass a plurality of powertransmission signals, which may be high voltage alternating currentsignals (AC) of 220 VAC, 280 VAC, 480 VAC, 600 VAC, or some othervoltage.

The standardized powerline interface further has a set of secondarycontacts, which includes a first pair of secondary contacts 130, 132(i.e., two offset spring steel contacts physically labeled “4” and “5,”respectively, on the connector represented in FIG. 5 ) and a second pairof secondary contacts 134, 136 (i.e., two offset spring steel contactsphysically labeled “6” and “7,” respectively, on the connectorrepresented in FIG. 5 ). In cases where the standardized powerlineinterface conforms to a NEMA-based protocol such as ANSI C136.41, thefirst and second pairs of secondary contacts may be referred to as NEMApins 4/5 and NEMA pins 6/7, respectively. In some cases, the set of pins4/5 or set of pins 6/7 is arranged to carry a plurality of optionaldimmer control signals. In cases where the two sets of secondarycontacts pass dimmer control signals, it is recognized that four dimmercontrol signals permit two independent dimmer control channels. In somecases, a single dimmer control signal is used as a node for a referenceplane (e.g., an earth/chassis ground), and three separate dimmer controlsignals are implemented or implementable. In other cases, at least someof the four secondary contacts are arranged to communicate encodedbinary data, and in still other cases, the secondary contacts implementa particular communication protocol (e.g., USB, I2C, SPI, or the like).

FIG. 6 is an exemplary data flow diagram 600 representing processing ofa streetlight-based TSU. The TSU of FIG. 6 is an IIOT device along thelines of TSU 102, TSU 103, or a smart sensor device 104 (FIGS. 1-5 ).Processing begins at 602.

At 604, operational features of the particular TSU are identified. Insome cases, the identification of such features includes an activecomputational process (e.g., a programmatic process wherein selection,enablement, and control of desired features is implemented, in somecases, via a processor executing software). For example, a TSU ofembodiment 600 may include hardware, software, or hardware and softwarepermitting the TSU to be configured as a baseband unit, a repeater unit,or a combined baseband and repeater unit. Further computationalprocesses may enable, disable, or even determine if cellular transceiverremote radio head circuitry is available in the TSU. In other cases, theidentification of features or capabilities of the TSU include a hardwareconfiguration (e.g., switches, jumper wires, or the like), and in stillother cases, a particular TSU is singly and fixedly configured as one ofa baseband unit, a cellular telecom repeater, or a combined basebandunit and cellular telecom repeater.

A TSU of embodiment 600 having functionality of a baseband unit willinclude processing at 606, 608, 610, and 612. Alternatively, oradditionally, a TSU having functionality of a repeater will includeprocessing at 614, 616, and 618. The baseband and repeater processingmay occur simultaneously, concurrently, sequentially, or in some otherway.

At 606, a TSU having baseband functionality will establish acommunicative link with one or more other TSUs, wireless computingdevices, or TSUs and wireless computing devices. At 608, the TSU willestablish one or more shared or separate and distinct communicativelinks with a core network. The communicative link formed at 606 may bealong the lines of communications passed via repeater/baseband backhaulcommunication conduit 106C (FIG. 3 ). Alternatively, or additionally,the communicative link formed at 606 may include cellular communicationspassed between a wireless computing device and the cellulartelecommunication transceiver of remote radio head circuitry in the TSU.The communicative link formed at 608 may be along the lines ofcommunications passed via dedicated backhaul communication conduit 106D(FIG. 3 ).

At 610, data between the devices and core network are bidirectionallycommunicated. The bidirectional communications session will be continuedat 612 or terminated at 622.

At 614, a TSU having repeater functionality will establish a linkbetween a TSU of embodiment 600 and one or more other TSUs, a smartsensor device, or a wireless computing device. The communicative linkformed at 614 may be along the lines of communications passed viarepeater backhaul communication conduit 106B (FIG. 3 ). Alternatively,or additionally, the communicative link formed at 614 may includecellular communications passed between a wireless computing device andthe cellular telecommunication transceiver of remote radio headcircuitry in the TSU.

At 616, data is bidirectionally communicated between the devices. Thebidirectional communications session will be continued at 618 orterminated at 622.

Considering the light control operations of a microcontroller 160 astaught in the present disclosure, several terms are now discussed. Forexample, within the context of the present disclosure, the term,“sunrise,” means an instant near daybreak of any given day under idealmeteorological conditions and with standard refraction of the rays ofthe sun when the upper edge of the sun's perimeter is coincident with anideal horizon. Additionally, within the context of the presentdisclosure, the term, “sunset,” means an instant near nightfall of anygiven day under ideal meteorological conditions and with standardrefraction of the rays of the sun when the upper edge of the sun'sperimeter is coincident with an ideal horizon.

The microcontroller 160 includes a location/identification module 170.Once the microcontroller 160 is deployed, the location/identificationmodule 170 may be accessed to receive, calculate, generate, or otherwiseisolate a specific terrestrial position of the microcontroller 160. Inat least some cases, the specific terrestrial position includes a firstvalue representing a latitude and a second value representing alongitude.

The microcontroller 160 is a real time device. That is, at any giventime, the microcontroller 160 may retrieve, receive, calculate,generate, or otherwise isolate a specific date and a specific time. Insome cases, time and date values are parsed from data received by thelocation/identification module 170. In these or other cases, time anddate values are parsed from data received by the communications module166 (e.g., a transceiver arranged for communications according to acellular-based protocol). In these or still other cases, time and datevalues are retrieved from other circuitry 168, which may include areal-time clock circuit. Other means of isolating a time value and adate value are contemplated.

The microcontroller 160 may be configured to calculate one or morepositions of the sun relative to the terrestrial position of themicrocontroller 160. Accordingly, the microcontroller 160 may bearranged to calculate any number of desirable solar time values. Forexample, considering the specific terrestrial location of themicrocontroller 160, a time of sunrise at that terrestrial location maybe calculated, a time of civil dawn at that terrestrial location may becalculated, a time of sunset at that terrestrial location may becalculated, a time of civil dusk at that terrestrial location may becalculated, a time when the sun is at a zero degrees (0°) zenith angleat that terrestrial location may be calculated, or any other timeassociated with a specific position of the sun relative to theterrestrial position of the microcontroller 160 may be calculated. Morespecifically, in at least some embodiments, the memory 164 may includeat least one algorithmic module that calculates specific local timevalues when the sun will be in a specific position.

Having now set forth certain embodiments, further clarification ofcertain terms used herein may be helpful to providing a more completeunderstanding of that which is considered inventive in the presentdisclosure. For example, Internet of Things (IOT) and IndustrialInternet of Things (IIOT) devices are fixed and/or mobile electroniccomputing devices that are coupled or coupleable to a computing network.IOT devices are often described as devices with consumer facingapplicability and IIOT devices are often described as devices withindustrial or machine-to-machine applicability. The two types of devices(i.e., IOT and IIOT devices) have one or more computing processors,memory storing instructions that direct operations of the one or morecomputing processors, and network circuitry. In many cases, the IOT andIIOT devices also include a power source (e.g., one or more of abattery, a physical power interface, a power supply, a photovoltaiccell, an induction coil, etc.), at least one sensor (e.g.,accelerometer, photo sensor, thermometer, and many others), and memoryto store data collected by the device. The present disclosure will usethe term IIOT devices, but it is recognized that the principlesdescribed herein are equally applicable to IOT devices.

Rather than a general-purpose computing device, an IIOT device istypically arranged to perform a particular function or set of functions.An IIOT device may, for example, be arranged as an environmental sensorthat collects data such as temperature, humidity, air quality, and thelike. In these cases, the IIOT device is deployed in a city, rural area,or some other location, and the device is either programmed on site orat the factory to communicate with a specific remote computing server.The remote computing server may be arranged at a great distance (e.g.,tens, hundreds, or even thousands of miles away) from the IIOT device.Alternatively, the remote computing server may be a smart phone tablet,or other computing device permanently or transitorily arranged a shortdistance (e.g., tens or hundreds of feet or inches or some otherdistance) from the IIOT device. In these cases, the IIOT device isprogrammed to communicate data to, from, or to and from a specificremote computing server.

Mobile network operators (MNOs) provide wireless cellular-based servicesin accordance with one or more cellular-based technologies. As used inthe present disclosure, “cellular-based” should be interpreted in abroad sense to include any of the variety of technologies that implementwireless or mobile communications. Exemplary cellular-based systemsinclude, but are not limited to, time division multiple access (“TDMA”)systems, code division multiple access (“CDMA”) systems, and GlobalSystem for Mobile communications (“GSM”) systems. Some others of thesetechnologies are conventionally referred to as UMTS, WCDMA, 4G, 5G, 6G,and LTE. Still other cellular-based technologies are also known now orwill be known in the future. The underlying cellular-based technologiesare mentioned here for a clearer understanding of the presentdisclosure, but the inventive aspects discussed herein are not limitedto any particular cellular-based technology.

In some cases, cellular-based voice traffic is treated as digital data.In such cases, the term “voice-over-Internet-Protocol”, or “VoIP,” maybe used to mean any type of voice service that is provided over a datanetwork, such as an Internet Protocol (IP) based network. The term VoIPis interpreted broadly to include any system wherein a voice signal froma mobile computing device is represented as a digital signal thattravels over a data network. VoIP then may also include any systemwherein a digital signal from a data network is delivered to a mobilecomputing device where it is later delivered as an audio signal.

Standardized powerline interface connector devices of the typesdescribed herein are in at least some cases referred to as NEMA devices,NEMA compatible devices, NEMA compliant devices, or the like. And thesedevices include receptacles, connectors, sockets, holders, components,etc. Hence, as used in the present disclosure and elsewhere, those ofskill in the art will recognize that coupling the term “NEMA” or theterm “ANSI” with any such device indicates a device or structurecompliant with a standard promoted by a standards body such as NEMA,ANSI, IEEE, or the like.

A wireless computing device, which may also be referred to as a mobiledevice or mobile computing device, is an electronic device provisionedby at least one mobile network operator (MNO) to communicate datathrough the MNO's cellular-based network. The data may be voice data,short message service (SMS) data, electronic mail, world-wide web orother information conventionally referred to as “interne traffic,” orany other type of electromagnetically communicable information. The datamay be digital data or analog data. The data may be packetized ornon-packetized. The data may be formed or passed at a particularpriority level, or the data may have no assigned priority level at all.A non-comprehensive, non-limiting list of wireless computing devices isprovided to aid in understanding the bounds of the term, “wirelesscomputing device,” as used herein. Wireless computing devices includecell phones, smart phones, flip phone, tablets, phablets, handheldcomputers, laptop computers, body-worn computers, and the like. Certainother electronic equipment, such as IOT devices, IIOT devices, smartdevices, and other like computing devices in any form factor, may alsobe referred to as a wireless computing device when this equipment isprovisioned for cellular-based communication on an MVO's cellular-basednetwork. Examples of this other electronic equipment include in-vehicledevices, medical devices, industrial equipment, retail sales equipment,wholesale sales equipment, utility monitoring equipment, streetlightcontrollers, small cells, transformer monitors, any type of “smart-city”devices, and other such equipment used by private, public, government,and other entities.

Wireless computing devices further have a collection of input/outputports for passing data over short distances to and from the mobiledevice. For example, serial ports, USB ports, Wi-Fi ports, Bluetoothports, IEEE 1394 FireWire, and the like can communicatively couple themobile device to other computing apparatuses.

Wireless computing devices have a battery or other power source, andthey may or may not have a display. In many wireless computing devices,a signal strength indicator is prominently positioned on the display toprovide network communication connectivity information to the wirelesscomputing device user.

A cellular transceiver is used to couple the wireless computing deviceto other communication devices through the cellular-based communicationnetwork. In some cases, software and data in a file system arecommunicated between the wireless computing device and a computingserver via the cellular transceiver. That is, bidirectionalcommunication between a wireless computing device and a global or localcomputing server is facilitated by the cellular transceiver. Forexample, a computing server may download a new or updated version ofsoftware to the wireless computing device over the cellular-basedcommunication network. As another example, the wireless computing devicemay communicate any other data to the computing server over thecellular-based communication network.

Each wireless computing device client has electronic memory accessibleby at least one processing unit within the device. The memory isprogrammed with software that directs the one or more processing units.Some of the software modules in the memory control the operation of thewireless computing device with respect to generation, collection, anddistribution or other use of data. In some cases, software directs thecollection of individual datums, and in other cases, software directsthe collection of sets of data.

Where set forth in the present disclosure, data flow diagrams (e.g.,FIG. 6 ) illustrate non-limiting processes that may be used byembodiments of an IIOT device such as a TSU 102, 103 or smart sensordevice 104. In this regard, each described process may represent amodule, segment, or portion of software code, which comprises one ormore executable instructions for implementing the specified logicalfunction(s). It should also be noted that in some implementations, thefunctions noted in the process may occur in a different order, mayinclude additional functions, may occur concurrently, and/or may beomitted.

The figures in the present disclosure illustrate portions of one or morenon-limiting computing devices embodiments such as one or more TSU 102,103 or smart sensor device 104. The computing devices may includeoperative hardware found in conventional computing device apparatusessuch as one or more processors, volatile and non-volatile memory, serialand parallel input/output (I/O) circuitry compliant with variousstandards and protocols, wired and/or wireless networking circuitry(e.g., a communications transceiver), one or more user interface (UI)modules, logic, and other electronic circuitry.

Processing devices, or “processors,” as described herein, includecentral processing units (CPUs), microcontrollers (MCU), digital signalprocessors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC),peripheral interface controllers (PIC), state machines, and the like.Accordingly, a processor as described herein includes any device,system, or part thereof that controls at least one operation, and such adevice may be implemented in hardware, firmware, or software, or somecombination of at least two of the same. The functionality associatedwith any particular processor may be centralized or distributed, whetherlocally or remotely. Processors may interchangeably refer to any type ofelectronic control circuitry configured to execute programmed softwareinstructions. The programmed instructions may be high-level softwareinstructions, compiled software instructions, assembly-language softwareinstructions, object code, binary code, micro-code, or the like. Theprogrammed instructions may reside in internal or external memory or maybe hard-coded as a state machine or set of control signals. According tomethods and devices referenced herein, one or more embodiments describesoftware executable by the processor, which when executed, carries outone or more of the method acts.

The present disclosure discusses several embodiments of industrialinternet of things (HOT) devices (e.g., one or more TSUs 102, 103 orsmart sensor devices 104) that include or otherwise cooperate with oneor more computing devices. It is recognized that these IIOT devices arearranged to perform one or more algorithms to implement various conceptstaught herein. Each of said algorithms is understood to be a finitesequence of steps for solving a logical or mathematical problem orperforming a task. Any or all of the algorithms taught in the presentdisclosure may be demonstrated by formulas, flow charts, data flowdiagrams, narratives in the specification, and other such means asevident in the present disclosure. Along these lines, the structures tocarry out the algorithms disclosed herein include at least oneprocessing device executing at least one software instruction retrievedfrom at least one memory device. The structures may, as the case may be,further include suitable input circuits known to one of skill in the art(e.g., keyboards, buttons, memory devices, communication circuits, touchscreen inputs, and any other integrated and peripheral circuit inputs(e.g., accelerometers, thermometers, light detection circuits and othersuch sensors)), suitable output circuits known to one of skill in theart (e.g., displays, light sources, audio devices, tactile devices,control signals, switches, relays, and the like), and any additionalcircuits or other structures taught in the present disclosure. To thisend, every invocation of means or step plus function elements in any ofthe claims, if so desired, will be expressly recited.

As known by one skilled in the art, TSUs 102, 103 and smart sensordevices 104 have one or more memories, and each memory comprises anycombination of volatile and non-volatile computer-readable media forreading and writing. Volatile computer-readable media includes, forexample, random access memory (RAM). Non-volatile computer-readablemedia includes, for example, read only memory (ROM), magnetic media suchas a hard-disk, an optical disk, a flash memory device, a CD-ROM, and/orthe like. In some cases, a particular memory is separated virtually orphysically into separate areas, such as a first memory, a second memory,a third memory, etc. In these cases, it is understood that the differentdivisions of memory may be in different devices or embodied in a singlememory. The memory in some cases is a non-transitory computer mediumconfigured to store software instructions arranged to be executed by aprocessor. Some or all of the stored contents of a memory may includesoftware instructions executable by a processing device to carry out oneor more particular acts.

The TSUs 102, 103 and smart sensor devices 104 illustrated herein mayfurther include operative software found in a conventional computingdevice such as an operating system or task loop, software drivers todirect operations through I/O circuitry, networking circuitry, and otherperipheral component circuitry. In addition, the computing devices mayinclude operative application software such as network software forcommunicating with other computing devices, database software forbuilding and maintaining databases, and task management software whereappropriate for distributing the communication and/or operationalworkload amongst various processors. In some cases, the TSUs 102, 103and smart sensor devices 104 are a single hardware machine having atleast some of the hardware and software listed herein, and in othercases, the TSUs 102, 103 and smart sensor devices 104 are a networkedcollection of hardware and software machines working togethercooperatively in a server farm, cluster, cloud, or other networkedenvironment to execute the functions of one or more embodimentsdescribed herein. Some aspects of the conventional hardware and softwareof the particular computing device are not shown in the figures forsimplicity.

When so arranged as described herein, each IIOT device (e.g., each TSU102, 103 and smart sensor device 104) may be transformed from a genericand unspecific computing device to a combination device arrangedcomprising hardware and software configured for a specific andparticular purpose such as to provide a determined technical solution.When so arranged as described herein, to the extent that any of theinventive concepts described herein are found by a body of competentadjudication to be subsumed in an abstract idea, the ordered combinationof elements and limitations are expressly presented to provide arequisite inventive concept by transforming the abstract idea into atangible and concrete practical application of that abstract idea.

The embodiments described herein use computerized technology to improvethe technology of smart streetlight controllers and otherprocessor-based “smart” devices, but other techniques and tools remainavailable to provision said IIOT devices and other smart devices.Therefore, the claimed subject matter does not foreclose the whole oreven substantial streetlight controller technical field. The innovationdescribed herein uses both new and known building blocks combined in newand useful ways along with other structures and limitations to createsomething more than has heretofore been conventionally known. Theembodiments improve on computing systems which, when un-programmed ordifferently programmed, cannot perform or provide the specificstreetlight control features that include onboard calculation of theposition of the sun relative to a terrestrial position of the smartstreetlight controller on any given day as taught herein. Theembodiments described in the present disclosure improve upon knownstreetlight controller processes and techniques. The computerized actsdescribed in the embodiments herein are not purely conventional and arenot well understood. Instead, the acts are new to the industry.Furthermore, the combination of acts as described in conjunction withthe present embodiments provides new information, motivation, andbusiness results that are not already present when the acts areconsidered separately. There is no prevailing, accepted definition forwhat constitutes an abstract idea. To the extent the concepts discussedin the present disclosure may be considered abstract, the claims presentsignificantly more tangible, practical, and concrete applications ofsaid allegedly abstract concepts. And said claims also improvepreviously known computer-based systems that perform streetlightcontroller functions and other smart computing device operations.

Software may include a fully executable software program, a simpleconfiguration data file, a link to additional directions, or anycombination of known software types. When a computing device updatessoftware, the update may be small or large. For example, in some cases,a computing device downloads a small configuration data file to as partof software, and in other cases, a computing device completely replacesmost or all of the present software on itself or another computingdevice with a fresh version. In some cases, software, data, or softwareand data is encrypted, encoded, and/or otherwise compressed for reasonsthat include security, privacy, data transfer speed, data cost, or thelike.

Repositories (e.g., database structures), if any are present in the IIOTand other computing systems described herein, may be formed in a singlerepository or multiple repositories. In some cases, hardware or softwarestorage repositories are shared amongst various functions of theparticular system or systems to which they are associated. A repository(e.g., database) may be formed as part of a local system or local areanetwork. Alternatively, or in addition, a repository may be formedremotely, such as within a distributed “cloud” computing system, whichwould be accessible via a wide area network or some other network.

Input/output (I/O) circuitry and user interface (UI) modules includeserial ports, parallel ports, universal serial bus (USB) ports, IEEE802.11 transceivers and other transceivers compliant with protocolsadministered by one or more standard-setting bodies, displays,projectors, printers, keyboards, computer mice, microphones,micro-electro-mechanical (MEMS) devices such as accelerometers, and thelike.

In at least one embodiment, devices such as the TSUs 102, 103 and thesmart sensor devices 104 may communicate with other devices viacommunication over a network. The network may involve an Internetconnection or some other type of local area network (LAN) or wide areanetwork (WAN). Non-limiting examples of structures that enable or formparts of a network include, but are not limited to, an Ethernet, twistedpair Ethernet, digital subscriber loop (DSL) devices, wireless LAN,Wi-Fi, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), or thelike.

In the present disclosure, memory may be used in one configuration oranother. The memory may be configured to store data. In the alternativeor in addition, the memory may be a non-transitory computer readablemedium (CRM). The CRM is configured to store computing instructionsexecutable by a processor of a TSU 102, 103 or smart sensor device 104.The computing instructions may be stored individually or as groups ofinstructions in files. The files may include functions, services,libraries, and the like. The files may include one or more computerprograms or may be part of a larger computer program. Alternatively orin addition, each file may include data or other computational supportmaterial useful to carry out the computing functions of an IIOT deviceor some other computing system.

Buttons, keypads, computer mice, memory cards, serial ports, bio-sensorreaders, touch screens, and the like may individually or in cooperationbe useful to a technician operating an IIOT device or other computingsystem. The devices may, for example, input control information into thesystem. Displays, printers, memory cards, LED indicators, temperaturesensors, audio devices (e.g., speakers, piezo device, etc.), vibrators,and the like are all useful to present output information to thetechnician operating the IIOT device or other computing system. In somecases, the input and output devices are directly coupled to the TSUs102, 103 and smart sensor devices 104 and electronically coupled to aprocessor or other operative circuitry. In other cases, the input andoutput devices pass information via one or more communication ports(e.g., RS-232, RS-485, infrared, USB, etc.).

As described herein, for simplicity, a technician may in some cases bedescribed in the context of the male gender. It is understood that atechnician can be of any gender, and the terms “he,” “his,” and the likeas used herein are to be interpreted broadly inclusive of all knowngender definitions. As the context may require in this disclosure,except as the context may dictate otherwise, the singular shall mean theplural and vice versa; all pronouns shall mean and include the person,entity, firm or corporation to which they relate; and the masculineshall mean the feminine and vice versa.

As used in the present disclosure, the term “module” refers to anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, aprocessor and a memory operative to execute one or more software orfirmware programs, combinational logic circuitry, or other suitablecomponents (hardware, software, or hardware and software) that providethe functionality described with respect to the module.

The terms, “real-time” or “real time,” as used herein and in the claimsthat follow, are not intended to imply instantaneous processing,transmission, reception, or otherwise as the case may be. Instead, theterms, “real-time” and “real time” imply that the activity occurs overan acceptably short period of time (e.g., over a period of microsecondsor milliseconds), and that the activity may be performed on an ongoingbasis (e.g., inputting system-wide unique identifiers (SWUIs) of aplurality of IOT devices, IIOT devices, or other smart computingdevices, inputting batch IDs, receiving information from the particularcomputing device, and the like). An example of an activity that is notreal-time is one that occurs over an extended period of time (e.g.,days, months, or years for a single instance) or that occurs based onintervention or direction by a technician or other activity.

In the absence of any specific clarification related to its express usein a particular context, where the terms “substantial” or “about” in anygrammatical form are used as modifiers in the present disclosure and anyappended claims (e.g., to modify a structure, a dimension, ameasurement, or some other characteristic), it is understood that thecharacteristic may vary by up to 30 percent. For example, a TSU 102, 103or smart sensor device 104 may be described as being mounted“substantially horizontal,” In these cases, a device that is mountedexactly horizontal is mounted along an “X” axis and a “Y” axis that isnormal (i.e., 90 degrees or at right angle) to a plane or line formed bya “Z” axis. Different from the exact precision of the term,“horizontal,” and the use of “substantially” or “about” to modify thecharacteristic permits a variance of the particular characteristic by upto 30 percent. As another example, a TSU 102, 103 or a smart sensordevice 104 having a particular linear dimension of between about six (6)inches and twelve (12) inches includes such devices in which the lineardimension varies by up to 30 percent. Accordingly, the particular lineardimension of the small cell networking device may be between 2.4 inchesand 15.6 inches.

Where a range of values is provided, it is understood that eachintervening value, to the tenth of the unit of the lower limit unlessthe context clearly dictates otherwise, between the upper and lowerlimit of that range and any other stated or intervening value in thatstated range is encompassed within the invention. The upper and lowerlimits of these smaller ranges may independently be included in thesmaller ranges is also encompassed within the invention, subject to anyspecifically excluded limit in the stated range. Where the stated rangeincludes one or both of the limits, ranges excluding either or both ofthose included limits are also included in the invention.

Unless defined otherwise, the technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill inthe art to which this invention belongs. Although any methods andmaterials similar or equivalent to those described herein can also beused in the practice or testing of the present invention, a limitednumber of the exemplary methods and materials are described herein.

In the present disclosure, when an element (e.g., component, circuit,device, apparatus, structure, layer, material, or the like) is referredto as being “on,” “coupled to,” or “connected to” another element, theelements can be directly on, directly coupled to, or directly connectedto each other, or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, whenan element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly coupled to,”or “directly connected to” another element, there are no interveningelements present.

The terms “include” and “comprise” as well as derivatives and variationsthereof, in all of their syntactic contexts, are to be construed withoutlimitation in an open, inclusive sense (e.g., “including, but notlimited to”). The term “or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or. The phrases“associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivativesthereof, can be understood as meaning to include, be included within,interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with,couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave,juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a propertyof, or the like.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” and variations thereof means that a particular feature,structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of thephrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various placesthroughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to thesame embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, orcharacteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or moreembodiments.

In the present disclosure, the terms first, second, etc., may be used todescribe various elements, however, these elements are not to be limitedby these terms unless the context clearly requires such limitation.These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. Forexample, a first machine could be termed a second machine, and,similarly, a second machine could be termed a first machine, withoutdeparting from the scope of the inventive concept.

As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singularforms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the contentand context clearly dictates otherwise. It should also be noted that theconjunctive terms, “and” and “or” are generally employed in the broadestsense to include “and/or” unless the content and context clearlydictates inclusivity or exclusivity as the case may be. In addition, thecomposition of “and” and “or” when recited herein as “and/or” isintended to encompass an embodiment that includes all of the associateditems or ideas and one or more other alternative embodiments thatinclude fewer than all of the associated items or ideas.

In the present disclosure, conjunctive lists make use of a comma, whichmay be known as an Oxford comma, a Harvard comma, a serial comma, oranother like term. Such lists are intended to connect words, clauses orsentences such that the thing following the comma is also included inthe list.

The use of the phrase “set” (e.g., “a set of items”) or “subset,” unlessotherwise noted or contradicted by context, is to be construed as anonempty collection comprising one or more members.

The telecom support units (TSUs) and systems described in the presentdisclosure provide several technical effects and advances to the fieldof cellular telecommunications. Technical effects and benefits includethe ability to improve the reliability and safety of the world's varioustelecommunications systems by providing or otherwise improvingdensification, redundancy, a reduced number of failure points, greaterbandwidth, the ability to support more users of wireless devices, anefficient and seamless integration with existing telecommunicationnetworks, and many more. The amount of high-bandwidth communicationmedium (e.g., fiberoptic cable, point-to-point microwave, and the like)may be reduced. By placing the TSUs of the present disclosure at thestreetlight level, opportunities for unobstructed line of sightcommunications are improved. Along these lines, there are opportunitiesto locate TSUs on streetlights positioned at roadway corners orintersections, which permit advanced telecommunication infrastructures,such as millimeter wave technologies to communicate around the cornersof buildings. In telecommunication paths that are obstructed orotherwise occluded, the TSUs of the present disclosure enable robustdata connectivity. In addition, where the expense, difficulty,inconvenience, or other circumstance prevents the provision of hardwiredbackhaul connectivity (e.g., dark fiber) to every small cell, the TSUsof the present disclosure permit one such hardwired TSU configured as abaseband device to serve multiple small cells.

The present disclosure sets forth details of various structuralembodiments that may be arranged to implement the teaching of thepresent disclosure. By taking advantage of the flexible circuitry,mechanical structures, computing architecture, and communications meansdescribed herein, a number of exemplary devices and systems are nowdisclosed.

-   -   Example A-1 is a telecommunications system, comprising a        plurality of remote radio head devices; a core network; and at        least one baseband processing unit, the baseband processing unit        including: a housing; a standardized powerline connector        integrated though a first wall of the housing; a high-bandwidth        communication medium interface integrated through a second wall        of the housing; a backhaul communication medium interface        integrated through a third wall of the housing; and a baseband        module having a first communication medium coupled to the        backhaul interface and second communication medium coupled to        the high-bandwidth communication medium interface; wherein the        plurality of remote radio head devices are communicatively        coupled to the at least one baseband processing unit via the        high-bandwidth communication medium interface, and wherein the        baseband module is coupled to the core network via the backhaul        interface.    -   Example A-2 may include the subject matter of Example A-1, and        alternatively or additionally any other example herein, wherein        the housing is between about four inches long (4 in.) and about        twenty-four inches long (24 in.), the housing is between about        two inches wide (2 in.) and about sixteen inches wide (16 in.),        and between about one inch tall (1 in.) and about six inches        tall (6 in.).    -   Example A-3 may include the subject matter of Example A-2, and        alternatively or additionally any other example herein, wherein        the housing is formed, at least in part, from a glass-filled        material.    -   Example A-4 may include the subject matter of any of Examples A1        to A-3, and alternatively or additionally any other example        herein, wherein the housing is formed, at least in part, from        both metal and plastic materials.    -   Example A-5 may include the subject matter of any of Examples A1        to A-4, and alternatively or additionally any other example        herein, wherein the high-bandwidth communication interface is        arranged to communicate data at a rate of at least ten gigabits        per second (10 Gbps).    -   Example A-6 may include the subject matter of any of Examples        A-1 to A-5, and alternatively or additionally any other example        herein, wherein baseband processing unit is an industrial        internet of things (HOT) device.    -   Example A-7 may include the subject matter of any of Examples        A-1 to A-6, and alternatively or additionally any other example        herein, wherein the baseband processing unit is arranged for        coupling to a streetlight luminaire via a standardized powerline        interface.    -   Example A-8 may include the subject matter of Example A-7, and        alternatively or additionally any other example herein, wherein        the standardized powerline interface is compliant with ANSI        C136.41.    -   Example A-9 may include the subject matter of any of Examples        A-1 to A-8, and alternatively or additionally any other example        herein, wherein the baseband processing unit is further arranged        as a small-cell telecommunications device.    -   Example A-10 may include the subject matter of any of Examples        A-1 to A-9, and alternatively or additionally any other example        herein, wherein the baseband unit is further arranged to        communicate with a plurality of IIOT devices via radio frequency        (RF) communications.    -   Example A-11 may include the subject matter of any of Examples        A-1 to A-10, and alternatively or additionally any other example        herein, wherein the baseband unit is further arranged to        communication with a plurality of IIOT devices via a cellular        communications network.    -   Example A-12 may include the subject matter of any of Examples        A-1 to A-11, and alternatively or additionally any other example        herein, wherein communications from the baseband unit include        wireless communications, wired communications, or both wired and        wireless communications.    -   Example B-1 is a telecommunications system, comprising a        plurality of remote radio head devices; a core network; and at        least one streetlight-based telecom support unit. The telecom        support unit includes: a housing; a clamp mechanically coupling        the housing to a streetlight support structure; a standardized        powerline interface integrated though a first wall of the        housing and electromechanically coupling the telecom support        unit to utility power; and a high-bandwidth communication medium        interface integrated through a second wall of the housing, the        high-bandwidth communication medium interface communicatively        coupling the telecom support unit to at least one of the        plurality of remote radio head devices.    -   Example B-2 may include the subject matter of Example B-1, and        alternatively or additionally any other example herein, wherein        the streetlight-based telecom support unit further comprises at        least one remote radio head device.    -   Example B-3 may include the subject matter of any of Examples        B-1 to B-2, and alternatively or additionally any other example        herein, wherein the streetlight-based telecom support unit        further comprises a single cellular telecommunications        transceiver, the single cellular telecommunications transceiver        arranged for mobile network operator subscriber-based        communications only.    -   Example B-4 may include the subject matter of any of Examples        B-1 to B-3, and alternatively or additionally any other example        herein, wherein the telecom support unit is configured as a        combined baseband and cellular repeater device.    -   Example B-5 may include the subject matter of any of Examples        B-1 to B-4, and alternatively or additionally any other example        herein, wherein the telecom support unit is configured as a        baseband device.    -   Example B-6 may include the subject matter of any of Examples        B-1 to B-5, and alternatively or additionally any other example        herein, wherein the telecom support unit is configured as a        cellular data repeater device.    -   Example B-7 may include the subject matter of any of Examples        B-1 to B-6, and alternatively or additionally any other example        herein, wherein the streetlight-based telecom support unit        further comprises a microcontroller arranged to control        operations of at least one streetlight.    -   Example B-8 may include the subject matter of any of Examples        B-1 to B-7, and alternatively or additionally any other example        herein, wherein the streetlight-based telecom support unit        further comprises a line-side utility-grade power metering        circuit and a load-side utility-grade power metering circuit,        wherein the line-side utility-grade power metering circuit and        load-side utility-grade power metering circuit are arranged to        operate concurrently.    -   Example B-9 may include the subject matter of any of Examples        B-1 to B-8, and alternatively or additionally any other example        herein, wherein the high-bandwidth communication medium        interface is a dark fiber interface.    -   Example B-10 may include the subject matter of any of Examples        B-1 to B-9, and alternatively or additionally any other example        herein, wherein the high-bandwidth communication medium        interface is a lit fiber interface.    -   Example B-11 may include the subject matter of any of Examples        B-1 to B-10, and alternatively or additionally any other example        herein, wherein the high-bandwidth communication medium        interface is a wireless interface.    -   Example B-12 may include the subject matter of any of Examples        B-1 to B-11, and alternatively or additionally any other example        herein, wherein the high-bandwidth communication medium        interface is a wireless interface having at least one        software-defined antenna.    -   Example C-1 is a streetlight-based telecom support unit,        comprising: a generally rectangular housing; a standardized        powerline connector arranged to mate with a corresponding        standardized powerline socket integrated into a streetlight        luminaire; a clamp arranged to mechanically couple the housing        to a streetlight support arm, the clamp further arranged to        reduce mechanical strain on the standardized powerline connector        during rotational coupling of the standardized powerline        connector with the corresponding standardized powerline socket;        and a high-bandwidth communication medium interface, the        high-bandwidth communication medium interface arranged to        communicatively couple the streetlight-based telecom support        unit to at least one a plurality of remote radio head devices.    -   Example C-2 may include the subject matter of Example C-1, and        alternatively or additionally any other example herein, wherein        the streetlight-based telecom support unit is configured as a        baseband device, a cellular data repeater device, or a combined        baseband and cellular data repeater device    -   Example C-3 may include the subject matter of any of Examples        C-1 to C-2, and alternatively or additionally any other example        herein, wherein the generally rectangular housing of the telecom        support unit includes a bottom surface integrated with a top        surface by at least one angled wall, and the bottom surface has        a larger area and profile than the top surface.    -   Example C-4 may include the subject matter of any of Examples        C-1 to C-3, and alternatively or additionally any other example        herein, wherein the high-bandwidth communication medium        interface is a dark fiber interface.    -   Example D-1 is a streetlight-based telecom support unit method,        comprising: providing a telecom support unit electromechanically        coupled to a streetlight; forming or establishing a        communication link between the telecom support unit and at least        one streetlight-based remote radio head; and bi-directionally        communicating cellular data between the telecom support unit and        the at least one streetlight-based remote radio head.    -   Example D-2 may include the subject matter of Example D-1, and        alternatively or additionally any other example herein, wherein        streetlight-based telecom support unit method of the third        embodiment may further comprise: forming or establishing a        second communication link between the telecom support unit and a        core network.    -   Example D-3 may include the subject matter of any of Examples        D-1 to D-2, and alternatively or additionally any other example        herein, wherein the second communication link includes at least        one dark fiber conduit.    -   Example D-4 may include the subject matter of any of Examples        D-1 to D-3, and alternatively or additionally any other example        herein, wherein the streetlight-based telecom support unit        method further comprises forming a second communication link        between the telecom support unit and a second streetlight-based        telecom support unit.    -   Example D-5 may include the subject matter of any of Examples        D-1 to D-4, and alternatively or additionally any other example        herein, wherein the second communication link includes at least        one lit fiber conduit.    -   Example D-6 may include the subject matter of any of Examples        D-1 to D-5, and alternatively or additionally any other example        herein, wherein the streetlight-based telecom support unit        method also includes programmatically selecting whether the        streetlight-based telecom support unit will operate as at least        one of a baseband device, a cellular data repeater device, or a        combined baseband and cellular data repeater device.

The various embodiments described above can be combined to providefurther embodiments. Various features of the embodiments are optionaland features of one embodiment may be suitably combined with otherembodiments. Aspects of the embodiments can be modified, if necessary toemploy concepts of the various patents, application and publications toprovide yet further embodiments.

These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of theabove-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, theterms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specificembodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims but should beconstrued to include all possible embodiments along with the full scopeof equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, theclaims are not limited by the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A telecommunications system comprising: aplurality of remote cellular transceivers; a core network; and at leastone streetlight-mounted telecommunications support unit providingcommunications connectivity between the plurality of remote cellulartransceivers and the core network, each telecommunications support unitincluding: a housing mounted to a streetlight; a first powerlineinterface configured through a boundary structure of the housing andconnected to a second powerline interface of the streetlight, the firstpowerline interface receiving electrical power from the streetlightthrough the second powerline interface; a communication interfacecommunicatively coupled to one or more remote cellular transceivers ofthe plurality of remote cellular transceivers; a line-side utility-gradepower metering circuit; and a load-side utility-grade power meteringcircuit, wherein the line-side utility-grade power metering circuit andload-side utility-grade power metering circuit are arranged to operateconcurrently.
 2. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein eachtelecommunications support unit further comprises: at least one cellulartransceiver coupled to the communication interface.
 3. Thetelecommunications system of claim 1, wherein the communicationinterface is a high-bandwidth communication interface supportingcommunications at a data rate of at least ten gigabits per second (10Gbps).
 4. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein eachtelecommunications support unit is configured as a combined baseband andcellular repeater device.
 5. The telecommunications system of claim 1,wherein each telecommunications support unit is configured as a basebanddevice or a cellular data repeater device.
 6. The telecommunicationssystem of claim 1, wherein the communication interface is configuredthrough a second boundary structure of the housing.
 7. Thetelecommunications system of claim 1, wherein each telecommunicationssupport unit further comprises: a microcontroller arranged to controloperations of at least the streetlight to which the housing is mounted.8. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein eachtelecommunications support unit further comprises: a clamp mechanicallycoupling the housing to a support structure of the streetlight to whichthe housing is mounted.
 9. The telecommunications system of claim 1,wherein the communication interface is a fiber interface or a wirelessinterface.
 10. A telecommunications support unit comprising: a housingmountable to a streetlight; a first powerline interface configuredthrough a boundary structure of the housing and connectable to a secondpowerline interface of the streetlight; a communication interfaceproviding communicative coupling to one or more remote cellulartransceivers; a line-side utility-grade power metering circuit; and aload-side utility-grade power metering circuit, wherein the line-sideutility-grade power metering circuit and load-side utility-grade powermetering circuit are arranged to operate concurrently.
 11. Thetelecommunications support unit of claim 10, further comprising: a clampconfigured to enable mechanical coupling of the housing to a supportstructure of the streetlight.
 12. The telecommunications support unit ofclaim 10, wherein the communication interface is a high-bandwidthcommunication interface supporting communications at a data rate of atleast ten gigabits per second (10 Gbps).
 13. The telecommunicationssupport unit of claim 10, further comprising: at least one cellulartransceiver coupled to the communication interface.
 14. Thetelecommunications support unit of claim 10, wherein the housingincludes a bottom surface integrated with a top surface by at least oneangled wall and wherein the bottom surface has a larger area and profilethan the top surface.
 15. The telecommunications support unit of claim10, wherein the communication interface is configured through a secondboundary structure of the housing.
 16. The telecommunications supportunit of claim 10, further comprising: a microcontroller arranged tocontrol operations of at least the streetlight after the housing hasbeen mounted to the streetlight.
 17. A method comprising: establishing acommunication link between a telecommunications support unit and atleast one cellular transceiver, the telecommunications support unitbeing mounted to a streetlight and receiving electrical power from thestreetlight; performing, by the telecommunications support unit,line-side utility-grade power metering and load-side utility-grade powermetering concurrently; and bidirectionally communicating cellular databetween the telecommunications support unit and the at least onecellular transceiver through the communication link.
 18. The method ofclaim 17, further comprising: establishing a second communication linkbetween the telecommunications support unit and a core network tosupport communications between the core network and the at least onecellular transceiver.
 19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:establishing a second communication link between the telecommunicationssupport unit and a second telecommunications support unit mounted to asecond streetlight.